“Change is afoot and those who are prepared to adapt are best positioned to succeed,” Randy Thibault, Land Solutions, Inc.

On February 26th, Three experts gave future real estate trends for the SW Florida Market. Below is a snippet from each.

Randy Thibault – Land Solutions, Inc.

Are we overbuilt? Thibaut’s answer: maybe for apartments and assisted-living units and “no way” for single-family homes.

“Steady absorption from new home sales while builders vie for a limited supply of vacant developed lots indicate that our local market is not overbuilt,” he said. “There’s still a lot of room for growth there.”

Value and affordability will continue to fuel the market in part driven by young millennials who have started to form families and have emerged as a significant driver in the local real estate market, Thibaut said.

Denny Grimes – Denny Grimes Realty

Despite the changing market, 2018 sales still set records in some segments, including the $1 million-and-up price range, which saw 375 homes change hands.

Last year, 20,648 single-family and multifamily homes sold in Lee County and 10,527 in Collier — a 49 percent decline over 2017.

“If you want to look at our market as pretty there is evidence to support it,” he said. “If you want to look at our market as a little bit challenged going forward there’s evidence to support it. Whoever looks at the numbers correctly will win.”

While there are still plenty of interested buyers in the market and showings are up, only four out of 10 of those buyers are ready to act. In the earlier part of 2018, the number ready to act was closer to 7, Grimes said.

“Our market is healthy,” he said. “Our market is rational.”

Stan Stouder CRE Consultants

Industrial land values have appreciated 68 percent since 2016, in part because demand has outpaced supply, he said.

“Collier County has a deficit of industrial land,” Stouder said
A moneymaker? Businesses in industrial and office spaces should renew their leases early to avoid escalating rents.

Wrapping up his talk, Stouder asked: When is the best time to plant a tree?

His answer: Twenty years ago.

“If you did, you would be benefiting now,” he said.

Using this analogy, he told the audience to shift now, for shade later.